Why Twitter Matters For Small Business And What To Do About It

How can Twitter help small business owners? Well, for starters, Twitter has over 200 million users, and that number is likely to rise in the foreseeable future. Although it’s easy to dismiss a social media site that only allows 140 characters per post as low brow, what many people need to remember is that it’s not the size of the post that counts, but the people who read it. So despite some of the accusations used against Twitter, the site’s popularity speak for itself.

How Does Twitter Differ from Other Social Media Sites?
There are certainly a lot of social media sites that small business owners can use promote their businesses, but you also have to remember that Twitter has its own unique niche. Although other social media sites, like Facebook and Pinterest, offer a lot features, what makes Twitter different is that people Tweet out messages that other people are willing to read.

Why? It’s because Tweets are brief and simple. People visit Twitter with the expectations that they will get easy-to-read texts from their favorite friends and celebrities. And that is where Twitter’s value come from. People are more likely to read your Tweets than your Facebook posts, mainly because the former is perceived to be shorter and easier to read than the latter.

Speed, Quantity and Convenience
What you need to remember about social media marketing is that the whole thing is based around the give and take principle. Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr, there is an implicit agreement among users that when you post something interesting, people will respond.

This give and take relationship is an essential aspect of all social media sites, including Twitter. However, what makes Twitter different from other social media platforms is the speed and convenience of its system. Given Twitter’s 140 character limit, it goes without saying that its posts are shorter, simpler and easier to read. These are the reasons why Twitter can be considered as a faster platform than Facebook or any other social media site.

Speed, along with quantity, makes Twitter a unique platform for online promotion. And of course, given the simplicity of the site’s system, Twitter is also an easy and convenient tool to use.

How Small Businesses Can Use Twitter to Promote Their Products and Services
There are many good reasons why Twitter matters for small business owners. Using Twitter in an effective and practical way however, requires further thought. Promoting a particular business or company through Twitter requires that you focus on certain key areas, namely:

– Online Promotion – Tweets aren’t just meant to inform people. They can also help promote your business.
– Customer Service and Public Relations – If your company is getting some bad publicity, you can use Twitter for damage control.
– Networking – Twitter is an excellent way to keep track of what your clients and business partners are doing. It can also help you expand your business’ list of contacts. Be sure to follow your clients back. You can also buy targetd Twitter followers to expand your reach to potential customers.
– Press Releases and News – In some cases, it’s better to announce certain news through Twitter than in your website. Twitter has the potential to make news items go viral, and from an internet marketing perspective, that’s very important.
Integrate these goals into your overall internet and social media marketing campaign, and you’ll have a much easier time promoting your business interests through Twitter.